Color reproduction of a color original on low-cost color photocopiers is generally of poor quality. The contrast of the imaging process of low-cost color photocopiers (and of electrophotographic processes in general) is very high. This can be due to the use of a continuous tone reproduction instead of a halftone or dither reproduction.
The poor color reproduction quality of low-cost color photocopiers presents a problem to someone who needs low-cost multiple reproductions of an original color image. Direct photocopying of the original image produces photocopies of poor quality. A single printer, such as the XL7700 printer manufactured by Kodak, will produce a high-quality reproduction, but the time needed to produce just one reproduction is relatively long in comparison to known electrophotographic processes.
In other fields of endeavor, such as in the motion picture industry, the concept of "optical intermediates" is used to produce a final product. A motion picture camera negative could be printed directly onto the print material in a single step. However, intermediate films are used to produce a duplicate negative which is used to expose the final prints. This is necessary because the original negative is not durable enough and is too valuable to use for the production of the numerous prints needed for distribution. These intermediate stages allow for the addition of special effects and titles, but are not generally used for improving the color reproduction of the final print.
There is a need for a device and a method that provides low-cost multiple color image reproductions of an original image by using the concept of optical intermediates.